Chapter 32 News - April 2022

April 18, 2022

Shannon O'Brien Brooks received the 2022 Phi Kappa Phi Chapter 32 Love of Learning Award for her service to UGA and the Athens community and her commitment to the Phi Kappa Phi motto, "Let the Love of Learning Rule Humanity." 

Dr. Brooks began her career at UGA in cooperative extension, and then moved to the Office of Instructional Support and Development, which is now the Center for Teaching and Learning, where she engaged in faculty development. 

She presently serves as the founding director of the Office of Service-Learning here at UGA. Since the founding of the OSL, opportunities for students to engage with the community as a part of their coursework have expanded to every school and college on campus, and over 40% of UGA students now take a service-learning course before they graduate. 

She has also led the development of community-university partnerships in the OSL including Experience UGA, which brings thousands of Clarke County students to campus  for academic field trips; and Campus Kitchen, which recovers food and provides meals for food insecure seniors in the community. 

Dr. Brooks holds a courtesy faculty appointment in the Department of Art Education in the Lamar Dodd School of Art, where she has developed and taught several service-learning courses for both undergraduate and graduate students. 

She currently serves as the editor for the Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, and her research has been published in journals such as the International Journal of Education and the Arts and the International Journal of Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement.

Dr. Brooks has served on many university-wide committees such as the National Survey of Student Engagement Steering Committee,  and the Quality Enhancement Plan Committee for UGA’s 2010 Southern Association of Colleges and Schools accreditation process, and she co-chaired the working group for UGA’s application for the 2010 Carnegie Community Engagement Classification. UGA was one of just over 100 colleges and universities to achieve this elective classification that year. She also served on the Phi Kappa Phi Executive Committee for many years, including as our President. 

Dr. Brooks is an active leader in the Athens community. She has served as chair of the board of the Athens Community Council on Aging,  chair of the board of the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce, chair of the SPLOST 2020 Citizens Advisory Committee, past president of the Classic City Rotary Club, board member for the Athens Area Homeless Shelter, and board vice president of Family Connection; Communities in Schools. She has also served on the board of the Clarke County Mentor Program, and the School Council for Classic City High School. 

Dr. Brooks has been recognized for her work in academia and in the community, receiving the Gulf-South Summit on Service-Learning and Civic Engagement through Higher Education  –  Outstanding Service-Learning Practitioner Award in 2011 and named as one of the Athens Banner Herald’s 40 under 40 that same year.

The Phi Kappa Phi Chapter 32 Love of Learning Award was established in 2003 in recognition of the 80th anniversary of the Chapter at the University of Georgia.  The award acknowledges each awardee’s outstanding contributions and accomplishments in their field of study.